Internal-combustion engine



1. F. KELLY. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3 916.

1,304,688 Patent ed May 27, 1919.

i Basin/ma m 1 STATES PAT T oFFIcE.

.Jomv F. KELLY,- or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

- To all whom it may concern -B'eitgknown that I, JOHN F. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook'and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion 'My invention relates generally to improvements: in internal combustion engines, and has reference more particularly to the pro vision 111 a working cyllnder of a novel secondary explosion chamber designed to communicate with the compression space on pri- 'mary explosion chamber of the cylinder and constructed and arranged for explosively firing the charge contained in the said com- 'pre'ssion space. v V v Hereto fore'it has been customaryin en- 'gines of this type to ignite the charge *through the in'strumentality of an igniting device, as a spark plug. It has been found however-that a deposit'of carbon and oil accumulated upon and in the vicinity of the spark' plug electrodes, such deposit fre- 1 fquently:producing premature explosion of the charge'inthe cylinderand in any event having anefl'ect of fouling the plug to u h "an extent as to eventually necessitate" the removal of the device. Insuchcase where a low g'ravity gas was'desiredto be employed, th'at isa gas having a low specific gravity (asforexample say approximately 54 de: grees), or-where in starting the engine the isurrounding atmosphere was at a low oint,

Tithe igniting device has proved ine cient,

Wholly inefiective.

and in the first instance practically if not The. principal objects, therefore, of my in- 1 'vention-are,,.first, to permitthe extensive utilization of such so-rcalled low gravity gas .inan internaltcombustion engine; second, to

-. I attainiza maximum explosion and thorough burning: of the mam charge, whether of a high or'lowg'ravity; and third, to produce a more efficient startingv of the engine where the surrounding atmosphere is at a 'low point. 1 These enumerated objects are attained in'*a.-highly-eiiicientimanner by my v idevioe, iwhich, without possibility of failure,

' spark plug.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters latent. Patented 2'7, Application filed. February 3, 1916. 7 Serial No. 76,032. i i I explosively fires the main charge, producing thereby a maximum flash and heat unit,

larger and greater than heretofore produced.

This device has a chambered interior pjrovided thereabove with a spark-plug or equivalent device, and is so constructed and arranged as to receive and envelop an 'appreciable quantlty of the more ethereal portion of the gas rising to the top of the" compression space in the cylinder to form an ex- 1 plodable secondary charge, ignition ofwhich by' the plug-results consequentlyflnan explosion in said chambered interior, or secondary chamber, of a capacity producing the desired explosive firing effect upon the main charge. Another object, attained by my invention, as I have found in practice, is that each explosion of the secondary charge ejects or destroys any deposit remaining in the chamber from the prior explosion and therefore e'ifectually prevents the fouling" of the electrodes'of its associated The device as' a whole'has a very eflicient self-clearing characteristici As a matterof test I have inserteda dirty spark plug in my explosion chamber and after subsequent useof the samein service have found on removal of the plug that it was free from that wh'ich before had-fouled it.

,,A' further object ofmy invention is the provislon of a chamber-for a s'parkplug adapted for application to the standard "tapped opening in the head of the cylinder, and wherein said chamber explosively communicates with the cylinder interior and is similarly tapped orthreaded to receive the threaded portion of a standard spark plug.

It will thus beseen that my invention has for its chief aim to improve the construction of gas or other types of explosive engines and increase the efficiency. and utility of devicesof this character, this efficiency being expressed particularly in increased mileage on a given quantity of'gas.

These, together with such other objects as may hereinafter appear, or are incident to my invention, I attain by means of the construction illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 represents a seotional view of a cylinder head to which my invention is shown applied;

;Fig.'2 isa view'embodying the spark, plug,

cylinder head cap and secondary explosion chamber, the cap and chamber being in section; Y

Fig. 3 is a View in elevation of said explosion chamber and V Fig. 4 represents a central'verti'cal section taken through the same. 7

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates in conventional form an internal combustion engine cylinder having a head 6, piston 7, and compression space 8 located intermediate the cylinder head and the top I of the piston Forming part of this cylinder head 6 is a cap 9 tapped at 9 to provide an "opening capable of receivingthe threaded lower portion of a standard spark plug, such for example as the one indicated by the nu- 'meral 10 in the drawings. This stated construction, per se, represents nothing more than that which is well known in the art.

In the 1 preferred construction as illustrated,- v my invention takes the form of a chambered fitting or device provided with an elongated chamber 11. The upper portion ofthis device is shouldered to constitute a nut 12, such nut being tapped at 13 to receive the lower threaded portion 14 of the spark plug 10 whose electrodes, when the plug is thus positioned, are located at the top of the chamber 11, the latter being the secondary explosion chamber to which reference has been made. Below the nut 12 and surrounding said chamber 1s a central wall portion or stem 15 externally threaded at 15 whereby. the device may be screwed intothe tapped opening 9 and provided there below with the downwardly slanting openings 16 and the rounded thick ball portion 17 forming the base of the device. This base incidentally serves .as a

preheater for volatilizing the gas before passing into the chamber 11 through openings 16.

"When the device is screwed into position,

that portion carrying the openings 16 and base-17 penetrates into the compression space 8'of the cylinder. These openings, or ports 16 have a combined area equal to the c1'o "-sectional area of the explosion chamber and provide direct avenues of com-, inunlcation between the secondary exploslon chamber 11 and the said compression -space, whereby on the compression stroke of the, piston 7 a quantity of the more ethereal portion of the gas after passing the base is envel ped under compression in'said chamber to form an explodable secondary charge, which charge on being ignited explodes and through said openings 16 explosively firesv the main charge of the cylinder. 'Such primary explosion is of such character as to destroy or eject anydeposit offlcarbon or oil which may have taken place, and the device therefore serves as a very practical preventive agent against actions and modifications therefrom may be p :within the wall of the cylinder .beingrsubseer AyA taetE stem cumulation of this kind in the neighborhood of the spark plug electrodes.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the device is interchangeable with and capable of being used in connection with spark plugs already in service, since all that is necessary to be done in order to install my device is to first remove'the' spark plug from the cylinderhead, screw in' the device in the tapped hole 9* and then insert the spark plug in the threaded opening provided in the upper portion 12 of the device. By rounding the base of my device all corners or pockets which might accumulate deposit are eliminated, and in providing the; downwardly and outwardly slanting openings 16 I aiinto produce an eflicient, spreading of the explosive effect for thoroughly firing and burning the main charge in the cylinder.

v I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to, the precise details of con- 7 struction and arrangement shown, as variaed hollow cap] adapted for cooperation with? the cylinder wall and the spark plug, the walls of the cap outside of the cylinder and 0 1 5 stantially the, same thickness, whereby: the interior of said cap provides within the wall of the cylinder, an elongated explosion chamber of slightly less diameter :than the diameter of that portion of the'explosion chamber lying outside of the cylinder, said cap being provided with a plurality of. apertures opening within the cylinder laterally of the explosionchamber within, the cap, the area of said aperture being substantially equal to the area ofvthe explosion chamber.

2. The combination with the primary combustion chamber of an automobile cylinderv and its standard plug orifice, and a spark plug therefor, of a device of the character described comprising an internally. threaded socket portion adapted toreceive the threaded base of said spark plug above said orifice, and athin tubular body portion externally threaded to engage in said plug orifice and having a closed lower end and an elongated bore extending-from the base of the plug to said closedlowerend, and constructed to serve as an explosion chamber forsaidprimary chamber and a scavbe screwed downwardly into said orifice 10 enging means for said plug, the side Wall and having its threaded portions constructof said body portion above said closed end ed of the same diameter, substantially as formed with a plurality of ports disposed described.

in said primary chamber below said orifice and capable of providing free, direct and JOHN KELLY unrestricted charging and firing communi- Witnesses:

cation between the bore and the primary PHILLIP S. Ron, 1 chamber, said device designed as a Whole to J OHN G. RIORDAN. 1

coniel of this patent'may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratentl,

' Washington, 10.0." 

